Essays must deal with music, musicians, or musical culture of Poland, and preference will be given to less researched topics or composers.

All papers must be typed (double spaced) on 8 1/2 x 11 inch white paper and must observe conventional scholarly style for technical writing in the humanities. They must be of suitable length for publication in a scholarly journal (ca. 20 - 40 pages). Theses and dissertations will normally need to be modified in length.

The Polish Music Center retains sole rights to publication and copyright of winning essays.

The essays will appear in the online semi-annual scholarly journal, "Polish Music Journal" (ISSN 1521 - 6039, since 1998). The authors will submit revised papers within 6 months of receiving the prize. The publication guidelines will be issued separately.

No entries will be returned; each author should retain a copy of his or her submission.

Competitors in the student category must declare that their paper was written while registered as a student at a specified institution. Competitors in the professional category should provide a proof of their standing - a copy of the doctorate award or letter from the institution of
higher learning for which they work, and a CV.

Should judging yield no essay suitable for the prize, no award will be made.

All entrants will be notified by the Thornton School of Music of the outcome prior to September 30th in the year of the Competition. The Research Paper prizes will be awarded the following spring on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

The Competition is held biennally in odd years (2001 and so forth); submissions must be received on or before June 30th of the year of the Competition.

All entries should be addressed to the Wilk Prizes in Polish Music, Polish Music Center, Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California, Los Angeles,
CA 90089-0851.

All entries should be accompanied with a cover letter with the autor's name and address. There is no separate
application form for this competition.